Internship Stories: Mary Wong

One of the ways that Deakin students can gain industry insights and experience is through our Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programs. There are a range of internship opportunities advertised at any given time and students always come away with valuable knowledge and increased networks to draw upon throughout their study and after graduation.

Below, Bachelor of Arts (Professional and Creative Writing) student Mary Wong shares her insights from a recent internship with Alex Adsett Publishing Services. As Mary has shared here, undertaking an internship can be very fruitful!

From the beginning of June to the end of October 2019, I had the fantastic opportunity to intern with Alex Adsett Publishing Services. During the five months, I developed interpersonal skills, written communication skills, and gained knowledge about publishing agencies and traditional publishing houses in Australia and overseas.

My main responsibilities required me to support Alex by finding successful fiction manuscripts to send off to potential publishing services for curation. This included the development of pitch letters and strategies for successful manuscripts deemed ready for publication.

Interning with Alex was an invaluable experience. It has equipped me with practiced written communication skills and exceptional knowledge of traditional print publication trends and marketing strategies. This internship has helped me refine my skills as a writer and introduced me to new employability skills necessary for a career path in publication. Since interning with Alex, I feel confident and passionate in my development of individual projects, especially junior fiction novels.

At the end of my internship, I was able to ask Alex to be a referee for my future endeavours as an aspiring freelance editor. Since the internship, I have been working as an assistant librarian at the Deakin Library, which also requires prompt organisation and professional written and oral communication skills.

Thanks to Mary for so generously sharing her insights here.

For students who are keen to find out more about internship opportunities in the Faculty of Arts and Education, you can contact the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) team – contact details available here. They are always happy to help!

 

*Featured Image (Cover) by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash